For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteh will let, until he be taken out of the way. <\/i><\/p>\n
\u2014II Thess. 2:7<\/i><\/p>\n
2092<\/b> Unexpected Gift In Paris<\/b><\/p>\n
Just before Christmas in 1974 four Paris garbage collectors were working along the Avenue Marigny behind the Elysee Palace when their truck was stopped by a policeman who told them they were being offered breakfast by President Valery Giscard d\u2019 Estaing. The president gave each garbageman a Christmas present of a turkey and a bottle of champagne, and wished them an enjoyable day. <\/p>\n
2093<\/b> Most Wicked Man In Edinburgh<\/b><\/p>\n
Alexander Whyte, the great Scottish preacher, once stood up in his pulpit in Edinburgh and said: I have discovered the most wicked man in Edinburgh \u2026 \u201d Then he paused, while the congregation eagerly awaited the name; whereupon the preacher continued\u2014\u201dAlexander Whyte.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014Eugene A. Hessel<\/p>\n
2094<\/b> Knox\u2019 Terrible Dream<\/b><\/p>\n
During his last hours, John Knox woke from a slumber sighing, and told his friends that he had just been tempted to believe that he had \u201cmerited Heaven and eternal blessedness, by the faithful discharge of my ministry. But blessed be God who has enabled me to beat down and quench the fiery dart, by suggesting to me such passages of Scripture as these: \u201cWhat hast thou that thou didst not receive?\u201d \u201cBy the grace of God I am what I am.\u201d \u201cNot I, but the grace of God which was with me.\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014Christian World Pulpit<\/i><\/p>\n
2095<\/b> Three Wonders In Heaven<\/b><\/p>\n
John Newton said, \u201cWhen I get to heaven I shall see three wonders there. The first wonder will be, to see many people there whom I did not expect to see\u2014the second wonder will be, to miss many people whom I did expect to see; and the third and greatest wonder of all, will be to find myself there.\u201d<\/p>\n
2096<\/b> Prayer Prelude Of Newton<\/b><\/p>\n
Two or three years before the death of John Newton, when his sight was so dim that he was no longer able to read, a friend and brother in the ministry called to have breakfast with him. Their custom was to read the Word of God following mealtime, after which Newton would make a few short remarks on the Biblical passage, and then appropriate prayer would be offered. That day, however, there was silence after the words of Scripture \u201cby the grace of God I am what I am\u201d were read. <\/p>\n
Finally, after several minutes, Newton spoke, \u201cI am not what I ought to be! How imperfect and deficient I am! I am not what I wish to be, although I abhor that which is evil and would cleave to what is good! I am not what I hope to be, but soon I shall be out of mortality, and with it all sin and imperfection. Though I am not what I ought to be, nor what I wish to be, nor yet what I hope to be, I can truly say I am not what I once was: a slave to sin and Satan. I can heartily join with the apostle and acknowledge that by the grace of God I am what I am!\u201d Then, after a pause, he said. \u201cNow let us pray!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014Daily Bread<\/i><\/p>\n
2097<\/b> The Grace of God<\/b><\/p>\n
When the learned, and wealthy John Selden was dying he said to Archbishop Usher, \u201cI have surveyed most of the learning that is among the sons of men, and my study is filled with books and manuscripts (he had 8000 volumes in his library) on various subjects. But at present I cannot recollect any passage out of all my books and papers whereon I can rest my soul, save this from the sacred Scriptures:<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2019The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and wordly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purity unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works\u2019 \u201c (Titus 2:14). <\/p>\n
2098<\/b> Always A Conqueror<\/b><\/p>\n
On the afternoon of May 24, 1738, John Wesley attended St. Paul\u2019s Cathedral in London. The anthem was Psalm 130, \u201cout of the depths have I cried unto thee O Lord, hear my voice.\u201d<\/p>\n
That evening in a society meeting at Aldersgate Street, Wesley\u2019s heart was strangely warmed as he heard a reading of Luther\u2019s preface to his Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans<\/i>. Like Luther, John Wesley described the change which overtook him. \u201cI was striving, yea, fighting with all my might under the law, as well as under grace. But then I was sometimes, if not often, conquered; now, I am always conqueror.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014Marvin W. Anderson<\/p>\n
2099<\/b> Creeping In<\/b><\/p>\n
When the father of Dr. Harry Ironside lay dying, the descending sheet which Peter saw in a vision was dominant in his mind. Over and over he mumbled, \u201cA great sheet and wild beasts, and \u2026 and \u2026 and.\u201d Seemingly he could not recall the next words and would start over again. A friend whispered, \u201cJohn, it says, \u201ccreeping things.\u201d\u201d \u201cOh, yes, that is how I got in! Just a poor, good-for-nothing creeping thing! But I got in\u2014saved by grace!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014Walter B. Knight<\/p>\n
2100<\/b> Court Could Not Give Mercy<\/b><\/p>\n
Judge Kaufman presided at the trial of the Russian spies, the Rosenbergs. They were charged with and convicted of treason against the United States and sentenced to death. <\/p>\n
In his summation at the end of the long and bitter trial, the lawyer for the Rosenbergs said animatedly, \u201cYour Honor, what my clients ask for is justice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Judge Kaufman replied calmly, \u201cThe court has given what you ask for\u2014justice! What you really want is mercy. But that is something this court has no right to give.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014Selected<\/p>\n
2101<\/b> Only Grace Could<\/b><\/p>\n
There is a tradition that Jonathan Edwards, third president of Princeton and America\u2019s greatest thinker, had a daughter with an ungovernable temper. But, as is so often the case, this infirmity was not known to the outside world. <\/p>\n
A worthy young man fell in love with this daughter and sought her hand in marriage. \u201cYou can\u2019t have her,\u201d was the abrupt answer of Jonathan Edwards. \u201cBut I love her,\u201d the young man replied. \u201cYou can\u2019t have her,\u201d said Edwards. \u201cBut she loves me,\u201d replied the young man. <\/p>\n
Again Edwards said, \u201cYou can\u2019t have her.\u201d \u201cWhy?\u201d said the young man. \u201cBecause she is not worthy of you.\u201d \u201cBut,\u201d he asked, \u201cshe is a Christian, is she not?\u201d \u201cYes, she is a Christian, but the grace of God can live with some people with whom no one else could ever live.\u201d<\/p>\n
2102<\/b> A President\u2019s Favor<\/b><\/p>\n
Felix Jardio, 60, a Filipino farmer had been saving his money for years to buy a carabao. He finally saved P1,300 and went out looking for the work animal, which he soon found. But alas, he did not know that the government had ordered all Philippine paper bills exchanged for the \u201cBagong Lipunan\u201d issue, and his savings stashed up in the old currency issue were useless. <\/p>\n
And so in 1975, he sent a letter\u2014with the help of some schoolboys\u2014to the President. After all, he was only a poor, ignorant rice farmer. The answer came back. It said: \u201cThe law must be followed. Because the deadline for exchanging bills has already passed, the government can no longer change your bills with the new ones. Even the President of the Philippines is not exempt from this rule.\u201d<\/p>\n
The letter did not end there. It added: \u201cHowever, because I believe that you really worked hard to save this money. I am changing them with the new ones from my own personal funds. I hope that you will be able to buy your carabao.\u201d The letter was signed: \u201cYour friend, Ferdinand E. Marcos, President of the Philippines.\u201d<\/p>\n
See also:<\/b> Salvation ; Matt. 25:19; Rom. 2:4.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteh will let, until he be taken out of the way. \u2014II Thess. 2:7 2092 Unexpected Gift In Paris Just before Christmas in 1974 four Paris garbage collectors were working along the Avenue Marigny behind the Elysee Palace when their truck was stopped … Continue reading “GRACE, AGE OF”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5087"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5087\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}